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The Need to Protect Digital Data
Before the widespread use of the Internet during the 1990’s, only the military
protected their digital data using encryption. But, as digital information became a
bigger part of everyday life and in order to continue to protect privacy, encryption
became more important to businesses, companies, and even to the average
user. Electronics have invaded our everyday life at work and at home; we've
gone from day planners to PDA’s, from film cameras to digital cameras, and from
rotary-dial phones to mobile phones.
Electronic devices make it easier to hold and pass around information. For
example, a massive collection of data, such as a library, can be squeezed to fit
an 8GB memory device. Today, people can even use their cell phones and
media players to carry around songs, photos and files. But the most popular
device to hold digital information for business users and end users alike is the
USB Flash drive, otherwise known as the “thumb drive” or “pen drive.”
The USB drive has the “ability to take vast amounts of information in a single go
via an item which is commonly available, easy to conceal and even if discovered
would arise little or no suspicion
[1]
.” This constitutes a possible security risk
since any type of information can be held in a USB drive. For example, “the
personal information of 6,500 current and former University of Kentucky students,
including names, grades, and Social Security numbers, was reported stolen May
26 after the theft of a professor’s Flash drive
[2]
.”
Flash memory manufacturer Sandisk analyzed thumb drive usage patterns and
reported that portable drives can damage a company through the possibility of
losing sensitive data. Figure 1 shows the Sandisk’s survey results as a
breakdown of the type of private information that professionals carry on a USB
Flash drive
[3]
.
Customer Records
Financial Information
Business Plans
Employee Records
Marketing Plans
Intellectual Property
Source Code
Figure 1: Flash drive usage categorization
[3]